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03.08.11 vol 034

This month...

...marks the completion of my first year writing the Brand New Perspectives column for QSR Magazine, a journal and website for the fast food industry.

Over the past 12 months, I’ve covered brand and marketing topics ranging from pricing to social media to customer experience and beyond. Since the insights and recommendations are applicable to most every type of business, I thought I’d recap some of the key points from the past year:
- what great Chief Marketing Officers do

- why growth isn’t always a good thing

- how to set your prices

- when you shouldn’t use social media

If you have any feedback or questions, or would like to suggest a topic you’d like to see covered in my column, I’m all ears -- mail@deniseleeyohn.com !

Denise

That's the CMO's Job

“Chief Marketing Officers contribute a business mindset, not just marketing. All marketers need to exert strong right-brain thinking in order to drive creative marketing programs, but CMOs also demonstrate proficiency in left-brain skills.

"They develop a detailed knowledge of the company’s financials, which not only gives them insight into what changes in the marketing mix need to be made in order to drive sales and profits, but also gives them credibility during management and board meetings.”

read entire column

Bigger Isn't Always Better

As the tales of Toyota and Krispy Kreme tell, pursuing aggressive growth usually comes with serious consequences:

- Growth is often simply cannibalization in disguise

- The decision to grow is often accompanied by a series of decisions to accept slightly lower levels of quality -- each individual change seems so small and inconsequential, but when combined, the differences add up to a significant degradation of the customer experience.

- In order to sustain growth, companies often have to introduce new products and promotions which are not aligned with the brand platform just to produce short spikes in results

read entire column

The Price Is Complicated

Many chains use a cost-plus approach to pricing. The problem is, that's a short-term, inside-out approach. Not only does it leave you vulnerable to variability in commodities pricing, but it also doesn’t reflect the full margin potential of your offerings.

Pricing should be decided from the outside in:
- Use price to communicate what your brand stands for.

- Be clear about your competitive positioning. Don’t be afraid to charge more if you’re competing on quality, exclusivity, or a superior experience.

- Vary price to emphasize brand differentiation and value or to target different segments.

- Use price anchors to set customers’ expectations.

read entire column

When Not to Use Social Media

Just because everyone else is jumping on the social media bandwagon doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for you. In fact, there are several instances when you shouldn’t engage in social media:

1. when you only want to promote your company.

2. when you don’t have a system for following up to complaints and requests in real time.

3. when you expect a clear financial ROI.

4. when you use it as your only marketing effort.

read entire column

access all Brand New Perspectives columns

Service Spotlight: Brand Toolbox

Is there a gap between your brand strategy and how it gets executed?

Do different internal groups disagree on what’s “on brand” and what’s not?

Do your business partners fail to understand or embrace your brand vision?

Use a Brand Toolbox to inform, inspire, and instruct all of your brand stakeholders to interpret and reinforce your brand appropriately.

A Brand Toolbox usually includes:

- the rationale and explanation of brand strategy
- principles and guidelines for delivering brand values and attributes at key touchpoints
- sample applications for brand expression and brand delivery
- decision guides
- process outlines

d ownload an overview and co ntact me to learn more.

d iscover how my other “brand as business” services can help you achieve your brand and business objectives.

discussing engagements for two national, iconic retailers – both looking to fuel innovation to increase their differentiation and grow their brand footprints
checking out my new membership with the Consumer Electronics Association Health and Fitness Tech Working Group – we’ll be doing research, media tours, and webinars to advance innovation at the intersection of technology and health/fitness
continuing to learn and network by attending Innovate the National Retail Federation’s retail and marketing conference

Know someone who may
be interested in this?
Forward it to them.

denise lee yohn, inc.
917-446-9325 | @deniseleeyohn
mail@deniseleeyohn.com | www.deniseleeyohn.com